Why can't we make a synthetic Fuel?

Question

We can make synthetic oil for engines, clone chickens, go to space, but we can't find a suitable substitute for fuel for vehicles? Can someone help me understand why? And please don't say the govt. conspiracies, I understand but I want a logical answer not the ramblings of a high 19 year old.

Answer 1

Technically it can be done--in fact its fairly easy.

The catch is this: in order for the combustion of a fuel to take place, the fuel has to store energy in the form of chemical bonds.  We can make such fuels synthetically--but any such synthesis has to add at least as much energy in the synthesis process as you want to get out of it.  And to do that, you have to produce the enrergy first. Which essentially means generating electricity, or in the form of heat--which has to be produced by burning something.

In short--a synthetic fuel would require as much energy to produce it as you'd get out of it--in fact more, since no such process is 100% efficient.  so, you end up pretty much not gaining anything.

There is research  on possible ways of making such an approach workable, however.  One is the whole "biofuel" approach.  A biofuel is essetially what you are talking about.  But the enrgy needed is solar enrgy captured and stored by the plants being grown to produce the fuel.  

Biofuels in the massive quantities required to replace fossil fuels won't work as is, though.  The reason is simple--the ecolgical devastation we would create by trying to grow that much raw matieral would wreak at least as much damage as the global warming is expected to do.  Biofuels can play a role--but it's going to be limited.

But there are other approaches.  One is to use genetically engineered plants that can be grown under conditions that wont affect the ecology.  Another--and the most promising, utilizes nanotechnology.  The idea here is to create a mechanical prcess that mimics the highly efficient photosynthesis used by blants.  Taht is, an electro-chemical system using somme form of artificial enzyme as a super catalyst would absorb solar enrgy and then sue it to drive a chemical reaction converting water ad CO2 into a hydrocarbon (i.e. methane or propane or one of the other hydrocarbons) with free oxygen left over.  This artificial photosynthesis could produce an unlimited amount of carbon-neutral and non-polutingfuel--and have no impact on the ecology at all since it wouldn't involve growing plants for the raw matieral..

This is still some years off, however.  We are talking about VERY cutting-edge science and technology.

Answer 2

You can, by electrolysis of plain water which splits the H2O into hydrogen and oxygen gases, the former of which is expected to be the portable fuel of choice in the not too distant future.  Electrolysis requires electricity, which would best be obtained from non polluting sources such as wind or solar or nuclear.

Needless to say, this is no simple retrofit for existing cars, it would require a ground up redesign, but the bottom line is "yes it will work".

Answer 3

I'm not 19...

Making fuel requires energy.

Think about that for a second.

Answer 4

In order to make a synthetic fuel, we would need to use coal-- there is no other feedstock available in quantity.  Back when oil was trading at $30/barrel, most estimates found that converting coal to oil would cost about $60/barrel.

The dollar has depreciated by about 60% since then.  So, while the price of oil has risen, the price of coal-to-oil has likely also risen, perhaps to around $96/barrel.  So, it may not be cost effective to build coal-to-oil synfuel plants.  The price of oil could conceivably drop, and bankrupt any synfuel producer.

We either need a new technological breakthrough, or massive government subsidies to get synfuels onstream.  

Even then it will take time for the synfuels to ramp up to the point where they can displace a significant amount of gasoline demand.  Look at ethanol: the ethanol industry has expanded at over 30% per year the past few years and still does not make much of a dent in gas prices.  There's still not enough ethanol to provide a 10% ethanol blend for every gas tank-- there's 140 gallons gas for 7 gallons ethanol.  We'd need to double ethanol production from what it is now to reach the 10% blend.

Answer 5

The question isn't "why can't we" but "why should we?"

As so often happens when someone claims to have a "solution" for any problem, only 1/2 of the equation is examined.

You must understand that there are no solutions, only trade-offs. If you want more of "A" then you must accept less of "B".

"Oh my! We'll turn corn or sugar cane into ethanol and we won't be using oil anymore. Oh! Oh! Its such a perfect plan!"

Well its perfect - until there is a shortage of corn starch or corn syrup or feed corn for livestock or corn for humans to consume or a shortage of sugar.

Its perfect until more forests are clear-cut to increase tillable acreage to grow still more corn or sugar cane.

Its perfect until the monetary costs of actually turning corn and sugar cane into ethanol are examined.

Its perfect until the additional fuel to transport the raw materials are computed - along with the added pollution from all the additional trucks.

Its perfect until the amount of energy and water needed to make ethanol from corn and sugar cane are accounted for.

There. Are. No. Solutions. Only. Tradeoffs.

If ethanol were such a great idea there would be no need for government subsidies. Private investment would flow to the production of ethanol IF it were economically rewarding.

Answer 6

Synthetic oils are still made from petroleum bases.  The "synthetic" just means that it has been transformed from its original petroleum based source to a different form.  Regular oils are just a fractionation of petroleum.  The biggest problem with true synthetic fuels is that you have to start with something, either palnt material or coal.  Then the energy barriers are very large to make it into a fuel.  It requires a source such as solar or nuclear energy and those are not cheap at the moment.

Answer 7

Ok, I won't get into potential government conspiracies...... but one only has to realize that the money coming from big oil going into the hands of those that work in our government is given for many reasons.....

The biggest is that the big oil people truely believe that oil/gas is the be all, end all for the worlds economy....

Do you remember the movie "Chain Reaction" with Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman..... it was about hydrogen becoming mainstream..... the premise was that if the secret of harnessing hydrogen as a pure and clean alternative to oil/gas were to be made public it would destroy the worlds economy.....

I have no doudt that this technology exists but as long as those in power are influenced by big oil, rest asured yoou will not see this happen, unless there are brave souls working  in the 'hydrogen' uses that make that information public or some group can mainstream it without the government knowing about it before it was too late....

I do mean to pick on Bush/Cheney and their big oil buddies on this one but my guess is that they have scared the **** out of potential scientists that might have otherwise come forward by now.

I can also assure you that if the government or the big oil companies were to realize that hydrogen was as profitable as oil/gas, you'd see hydrogen mainstreamed so fricken fast it would be in every car before breakfast the next day!

You'd also know it was real when FOX Noise would be whooping it up for hydrogen.... until then..... its oil and limited types of hybrid cars.

Answer 8

Im not high and im not 19.... but, we actally have began using corn for fuel.....Also i saw on the news a few months prior that a man has found a way to use moonshine to fuel his motercycle(after tweeking the engion a bit)  Hope this answered your question.

Answer 9

something synthetic is something thats not really the actual thing. like synthetic leather, its like leather but it actually isnt. so synthetic fuel would be something that is like fuel but actually isnt. so to answer your question, we actually can  make synthetic fuel but we dont because it would be useless. i guess to humor you, you can think of a rock as synthetic fuel, fill your gas tank up with rocks and youll notice that nothing happens. hope this helps!